Historic Delgamuwa Vihara:
Where the Sacred Tooth Relic was hidden
Story and pictures by Mahil Wijesinghe

The upper terrace of the Delgamuwa Vihara today |
Entering through a huge Makara Thorana, I make my way through the
narrow pathway of Sri Dalada Mawatha- it is a brisk half-hour of walking
in a rustic setting with a breathtaking view of the awe-inspiring
mountains and a glimpses of Sri Pada. The 'Sal' trees laden with
blossoms lies in the temple premises. Heaps of fallen Sal flowers had
been freshly swept into piles, emanating a glorious fragrance.
Peace and tranquility is the first thought that comes to your mind as
you step into less known Delgamuwa Vihara. Said to date as far back as
the Kingdom of Seethawaka, Delgamuwa Vihara holds a significant place in
our annals. At a glance it may look like any other temple complex, but
it is the role that it played providing protection to the Sacred Tooth
Relic of the Buddha for more than 40 years in the (Kurahangala) grinding
stone from invaders that makes it unique.
DelgamuwaVihara is situated in a sleepy village of Delgamuwa in
Kuruwita, Ratnapura and can be reached via the A4 (Colombo-Batticaloa
road). Located close to Kuru Ganga on a small hillock with a grand vista
of the countryside sprawling below at the edge of a vast stretch of
paddy fields of Delgamuwa. The ancient chronicle Rajawaliya, refers to
the temple as the Sabaragamu Viharaya and the Mahawansa refers to this
place as Labujagaama Viharaya.
Ever since the 4th Century A.D., when the Gautama Buddha's Tooth
Relic was brought to Sri Lanka hidden in Orissan Princess Hemamala's
hair, the Relic had grown in repute and veneration in Sri Lanka and
throughout the Buddhist world. It became not only Sri Lanka's most
prized possession, but the very seal of sovereignty. The national
capital was regarded as the place where the Tooth Relic was permanently
housed.

Chief priest of DelgamuwaVihara,
Ven. Maahalle VipulatissaThera |
With the fall of Anuradhapura Kingdom in the face of Chola invasions
in the tenth Century AD, the Sri Lankan Kingdom was constantly on the
move and the sacred Tooth Relic was also moved from Kingdom to Kingdom
with all the pomp and pageantry of royal patronage and protection.
The Sacred Tooth Relic's narration with DelgamuwaVihara is an
interesting episode during the days of King Mayadunne in Kingdom of
Seethawaka. Chief Incumbent of the Vihara, Ven. MaahalleVipulatissa
Thera described to us the history of the Vihara.
According to the historical notes, in the time of Kotte Kingdom,
Keerawelle Hiripitiya Nilame- the Diyawadana Nilame of the time to whose
protection the sacred Tooth Relic had been bestowed- saw a dream where
he was advised to take the sacred Tooth Relic away from Kotte. After
replacing the sacred Tooth Relic with an imitation, the Nilame fled to
the Pepiliyana temple to meet a monk for a better interpretation of his
dream. There the monk urged him to take the sacred Tooth Relic to the
Central region as danger was imminent.
At the meantime, the sacred Relic was taken to King Mayadunne of
Seethawaka Kingdom who gave it to pious monk, Ven. Mahindalankara Thera
of the Delgamuwa Vihara. The Thera hid the sacred Tooth Relic in a (Kurahangala)
grinding stone which has been kept in the Vihara for over 40 years.
However, King Mayadunne was killed by his own son, Tikiri Kumaru who
became King of Seethawaka as Rajasingha I. He want to pay his homage to
the sacred Tooth Relic and decided to hold a Perahera, which started
from the DelgamuwaVihara and then proceeded to Saman Vehera in Ratnapura,
(presently Maha Saman Devalaya), joining the annual grand Esala Perahera.

Sacred (Kurahangala) grinding stone in which the sacred
Tooth Relic was hidden during the reign of King Mayadunne in
Kingdom of Sitawaka lies in DelgamuwaVihara |
The sacred Tooth Relic which was hidden in the grinding stone at
DelgamuwaVihare in Kuruwita, was then brought to Kandy by King
Wimaladharmasuriya I. Due to initiatives of Ven. Devanagala Ratnalankara
Thera of Senkadagala after a discussion with Ven. Mahindalankara Thera
and Diyawadana Nilame of Keerawelle, Hiripitiye, the sacred Tooth Relic
was kept in a special two storeyed temple erected in proximity to the
royal palace in Kandy.
After the sacred Tooth Relic was taken to Kandy, the Portuguese had
invaded Delgamuwa Vihara, robbed everything there and established a
fortress in the name of Kuruwita Balakotuwa. But later the Vihara was
restored and in 1956, the unsheltered grinding stone where the sacred
Tooth Relic was hidden for many years, was kept on a protected structure
for devotees to pay homage.
An ancient stone inscription mentioning that King Rajasinghe I of
Seethawaka had offered several villages including Delgamuwa to the
Sacred Tooth Relic, was found in the temple ground a century ago.
Thinking that these properties would have been lost to them, an
ancestral village headman and a few villagers are said to have buried
this inscription in the well at the temple. Ven. Maahalle Vipulathissa
Thera told me that he was told of this episode by a few elderly persons
in the village who had seen it with their own eyes when they were small
boys.
The temple is divided into two sections as the upper and lower
terrace. While the residence of the monks (Avasa Ge) lies in the lower
terrace, a path leads towards a flight of stone steps to the upper
terrace of the temple. Ending my ascent, I came upon a white dagaba
along with the modern image house which was rendered with colorful
paintings.
Today what remains of DelgamuwaVihara gives you a glimpse of a ruined
foundation of a building, a few stone carved flights of steps, two
ruined stone carved flower altars and most significantly, a massive (Kurahangala)
grinding stone which provided protection for the sacred Tooth Relic,
placed in a specially built structure in the upper terrace under the
shade of centuries old massive Bo tree with its sprawling branches
spread out in all directions in the upper terrace.
As I ventured further into eastern side, there lies another oval
shape two storey building housing some artefacts. Ancient coins, tiles,
small grinding stones and pieces of porcelain plates which belong to
different periods of time have been e3xcavated from the temple grounds
and are now exhibited in this well protected place.
Look at the surrounding vista, what drew me was the profound serenity
of this spiritual site.With history at the seams, the chief priest says
if an extensive archaeological excavation is carried out in the site,
new discoveries will unearthed here. We decided to leave it to the
archaeologists who may one day rediscover the temple's glorious past and
finally tell the long forgotten tale of Delgamuwa Vihara.

Anciant Bo Tree on the upper terrace
Some of the artefacts found placed in a protected
One of the stone carved flower altars
room in the Vihara.
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